Monday, June 29, 2009

The NBA draft passed by with some interesting scenarios and curiosities, but the recent trades that passed by were really the stars of the show. I will give my two cents on the issue for each team.

Atlantic:

Boston - Lester Hudson. worth a summer league invite. He may be better than Gabe Pruitt. The big issue will be all that Rondo-Ainge turmoil.

New York - Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas. Stephen Curry might have gotten away, but it remains to be seen if Ricky Rubio may be had for the right price. Knicks also get Darko. Hmm... Lee and Nate as trade bait? We will never ever hear the end of Lebron 2010 now.

Philadelphia - Jrue Holiday. Lottery talent that loves running. Perfect fit for the new-old school Sixers. How much he plays depends on what they do now with Andre Miller. He can play, people, despite what his numbers indicate.

New Jersey - Terence Williams. Traded Carter for Alston, Battie and Courtney Lee. They are setting up cap room for the offseason. But this is going to be a young team led by a young stud named Devin Harris. Growing pains, but they'll be dangerous.

Central:

Cleveland - Christian Eyenga, Danny Green, Emir Predzlic. Head scratcher with the Congolese first rounder. But they have Shaq. Mike Brown, bad things have happened to recent COY winners. Good luck with this bunch. Huge pressure on Lebron and more with Danny Ferry. However, Danny Green is a good catch where they picked him.

Indiana - Tyler Hansbrough, A.J. Price. Another white player in the roster, who busts his butt off. Another complimentary piece in a team revolving around fundamentals and sound play. However, their PG is still in flux, as each PG (preferably Jamaal Tinsley) can be had. And for a team reeling from the brawl, taking in someone who was involved with stolen laptops is not exactly ideal.

Chicago - James Johnson, Taj Gibson. More depth in the frontcourt with these two. Adding James Johnson might actually make Tyrus Thomas expendable. The bigger picture remains to be how to handle Ben Gordon's impending FA status.

Milwaukee - Brandon Jennings and Jodi Meeks. They also secured Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen and Amir Johnson. They might blow things up. Meeks is to Michael Redd when Redd is to Ray Allen when Redd was drafted in the second round. Can Jennings walk the walk? He will get the chance to be tutored by Skiles. Now who will be leaving first, Luke or Ramon?

Detroit - Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko. They also acquired Fabricio Oberto. Additional depth, but they are to make a free agent run at somebody to retain relevance (i.e. Ben Gordon or Carlos Boozer). Those three forwards could also facilitate deals towards certain people.

South:

Atlanta - Jeff Teague, Sergiy Gladyr. They also secured Jamal Crawford at minimal cost. No matter what do they do with Bibby, they are still in the race. Teague will be the future point man Acie was supposed to be. Gladyr is a stash 'em for the moment.

Charlotte - Gerald Henderson, Derrick Brown. Here goes another proven Carolina talent (this time from the Duke Program). Gerald looks to be groomed as Raja Bell's heir apparent. Derrick is a late first round talent falling into the second round. The Bobcats are only one veteran piece to contend in the bottom 4 playoffs seeds.

Washington - None, but traded for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Their backcourt rotation is set (Arenas, Foye, Miller, Stevenson, Young). Now if they can get a reserve big and hire those miracle trainers in Phoenix...

Miami - Patrick Beverley, Robert Dozier. Typical Pat Riley picks. Both can defend, so they have a chance at a roster spot.

Orlando - None, but secured Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. He's back home. Can he get it done? What does this mean for Hedo? Gortat also is a free agent.

Southwest:

San Antonio - DeJuan Blair, Jack McClinton, Nando De Colo. Spurs fired the first shot, trading 3 contracts for Richard Jefferson, then get the luck of the draw with the Blair selection. McClinton provides instant offense and De Colo is a typical Spurs Euro pick. Lakers have to deal with the Spurs for two more years. They know how to do things and do things that appeal to their fanbase best.

Dallas - Rodrigue Beaubois, Nick Calathes, Ahmad Nivins. Beaubois and Calathes are guards who might come in if Jason Kidd departs. Of course, it would be better they get an additional season or two in Europe before they enter the NBA, but they can contribute. Nivins will get a summer league invite and things will develop from there.

Houston - Jermaine Taylor, Sergio Llull, Chase Budinger. Good things come in threes, and Daryl Morey completes the young geek GMs who seem to have a great knack with the draft. Llull might stay overseas, but the other 2 can compete for roster spots and with Budinger, might contribute immediately.

New Orleans - Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton. Pargo was a huge loss to the team last year and Collison would be able to fill the void he left.

Memphis - Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young. A bunch of young talent that will play all out (at least on the defensive end). Jury is out if they will regret passing on Rubio. They also get Quentin Richardson to be Antoine Walker's buddy on the bench.

Midwest:

Portland - Victor Claver, Dante Cunningham, Jeff Pendergraph, Patrick Mills. This seems more low key than in previous years, but Kevin Pritchard seems to have the Midas touch with the draft. Claver would be a talent to add in the future, Pendergraph and Cunningham could compete for a role as a back-up for LaMarcus. Mills could be a sneaky roster addition to replace Sergio. More trade chips at his disposal for a key veteran addition.

Denver - Ty Lawson. Chauncey gets 2-3 years to train him to be the new Mr. Big Shot. And with his speed, will be a perfect fit in the Mile High City.

Oklahoma City - James Harden, B.J. Mullens, Robert Vaden. Harden will complement Westbrook as a scoring 2-guard who can take it to the rim. Mullens is another big man project and Vaden can get it to the hole. Presti seems to know what he is doing, so he has the benefit of the doubt.

Minnesota - Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, Henk Norel. They also acquired Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila in the deal. Norel can be stashed in Europe, but the intriguing selection of point guards back-to-back really boggles the mind, especially if one of them is named Ricky Rubio. It's hard to imagine having both Rubio and Flynn play and grow together. One of them will be dealt, book it. Ellington, though is the offensive foil to Corey Brewer.

Utah - Eric Maynor, Goran Suton. Eric is going to be a really good back-up to Deron and can play alongside him as well. Suton is a good big man insurance who can be stashed in Europe if need be. A poor man's Memo.

Pacific:

LA Lakers - Chinemelu Elonu. What they will do is simply keep who they need to keep. They can always stash the guy in Europe.

LA Clippers - Blake Griffin. The only choice and the right choice. Needs to figure out a way to let him play.

Golden State - Stephen Curry. They also traded for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton. Not that Monta Ellis would be scared by the pick. However, I have a sense that they are not finished just yet. Acie and Speedy are not going to be much a factor.

Sacramento - Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, John Brockman. Not bad, but would be better. Tyreke better prove that passing on Rubio is a good thing. However, they did secure a Spanish PG in Sergio Rodriguez, who likes transition ball. The Kings will run and run a lot next season with their greyhounds. Brockman helped out Spencer Hawes before, and he will get a chance to do it again.

Phoenix - Earl Clark, Taylor Griffin. Welcome to the deconstruction of the Phoenix Suns. Where you can get Shaq for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. Where you could possibly trade Amare to Golden State. Where you have the lesser talented brothers in Robin Lopez and Taylor Griffin. However, which Earl Clark will be coming out? The Lamar Odom or the Tim Thomas.

Three drafts I like: San Antonio, Philadelphia and MilwaukeeThree drafts I loathe: Cleveland, Minnesota, Sacramento.

Friday, June 19, 2009

There is a very interesting running event that Globe has in store. Entitled "Run for Home," it will be held at the Fort on July 19. Registration is from today until July 3. Proceeds will go to Habitat For Humanity’s on-going construction of houses in "Bayan Ni Juan in Calauan," a housing relocation site in Brgy. Dayap Calauan, Laguna under the Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig Project of ABS-CBN Foundation.

This is brought to you in cooperation with Ayala Land and Bonifacio Global City, and supported by major sponsors Philippine Star and Adidas, as well as by 100 Plus, Fitness First, Intercontinental Manila, Photovendo and Timex. Run for Home's media partners include ABS-CBN, GMA, Barangay LS 97.1, 99.5RT, Wave 89.1, Monster Radio RX 93.1 and Jam 88.3, and the race is organized by Finish Line Inc.

The Top 3 teams on each division will advance into a two-division set-up with A and B paired together and C & D paired together. The teams from A will play the teams from B and C will play D. Top 4 of the AB group and CD Group will enter knockout phase. E1 faces F4, E2 faces F3, E3 faces F2 and E4 faces F1.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I found it ominous that my local cable provider showed the run to the 1985 Laker title. Reading about the story and how things went for that team, who lost to Boston in the Finals the year before, was focused on one thing, to win the title.

It is odd considering that the faced the Celtics in the Finals last year, losing to them in what some say as a "so-called" 6-game sweep. Embarrassed, they dedicated themselves to go all out this year. On the way to both titles, they faced off against a game Nuggets team.

Maybe someone could shed light on this comparison: a guy named Mitch Kupchak, who played in the 85 team and now is the GM of the 09 team.

1. Rashard Lewis. 6 pts. 2/10 shooting. Not good. They need him if they want to go back to LA.

Rashard Lewis finished with 18 pts (6/19 shooting), 10 rebs, 4 assts, 1 stl and 2 blocks. He shot 3/12 from long distance and 3/5 from the line. However, the team as a whole did not play at the level expected.

2. Fisher and Ariza. Fisher was huge in game 4. Ariza has been huge in the series. How good a follow-up.

Florintino Perez gets a new mandate being the new Real Madrid president, and now they are back at it again with their 2 record signings. First signing Kaka away for 68m euros ($94.05m or £58.9m) from AC Milan, then breaking the bank for Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United for £80m. They hired Manuel Pellegrini to replace former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos.

They have not been dominant as of late (that is FC Barcelona), and as such, they went back to Perez, who was in charge of the Galacticos era of Madrid.

Perez has been quoted as saying he is looking at 5 or 6 signings for the upcoming season. Among those rumored are David Villa (Valencia striker), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) and Xabi Alonso.

Given how much money Madrid has with its global marketing and merchandising, they can withstand the possible signings.

Friday, June 12, 2009

The Magic lost in OT. I wonder how come? Let's look back at the events I highlighted:

1. Is Kobe tired? Does he have enough gas? What will he put up now with all the criticism being hurled at him right now?

He went 11/31 shooting for 32 pts. He went perfect from the ft line. Oh, and he had 7 boards and 8 assts. He had lots of help in the comeback, like 16 pts (all in the 2nd half from Trevor "I will be paid" Ariza.

2. Can Orlando shoot the ball well like what they did in Game 3? Can they approximate it? Will it rain threes?

Obviously, not. However, they shot decently well in the first half before that mess of a second half and OT came about. They shot 42% overall and 33% beyond. To reflect the bad shooting, 22/37 from the FT line. Just 7 conversions from long distance.

3. Can Rafer follow-up Game 3 with a respectable performance in Game 4? Ditto with Pietrus?

Alston was playing well early, but come the fourth quarter, they were going with Jameer Nelson. Jameer was doing fine, but this indecisive play with the hot hand situation has killed the Magic. Final numbers from Skip: 27+ minutes, 11 pts (5/13 shooting), 1 reb, 1 stl and 2 assts. Jameer, on the other hand, 25+ minutes, 2 pts (1/3 shooting), 3 rebs, 3 assts. Somehow, SVG keeps on botching this move. No offense to JJ Redick and how he is giving an effort, why did Courtney Lee just get 7 minutes?

4. What will be the rebounding story? 5 rebounds from Pau and Lamar combined is not good.

Even with the big men in early foul issues, the Lakers were only outrebounded by 2. Pau with another double-double. Lamar only had 9 and 5 due to foul issues. Dwight had 21 and set a Finals record with 9 rejections.

5. Andrew Bynum. Will he ever emerge in this series?

6 pts, 2 rebs 5 fouls. 15 minutes. he is now an afterthought. Derek Fisher emerged with that game-tying three.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

He played under 20 minutes, scoring 4 pts, a steal and three fouls trying to guard Kobe. However, one of his two field goals was a nice dunk. It is hard to guard Kobe Bryant, but he was game and he gave a decent account of himself. His minutes are that low because Pietrus was scorchin'.

2. How will the crowd impact the game?

The Magic set a NBA Finals record for FG shooting both in a half and in a game. The start was not exactly the ideal one, but you can attribute that to Kobe ensuring a competitive LA. However, they were 5/14 from three point range.

3. Will a PG rise up in Orlando?

Rafer Alston woke up and was amazing. He smoked the 1st quarter and ended up with 20 pts, 2 rebs and 4 assts. He was so hot, Jameer Nelson only played 11 minutes. SVG will probably now play the hot hand among the two.

4. Can Dwight make an impact offensively?

Only six FG attempts for Dwight, making five, but again he was dominant in the line, shooting 11/16. He really needs offensive moves, which is the priority in the offseason.

5. For LA, can the supporting cast help Kobe, Pau and Lamar?

Farmar scored 11 points and Ariza scored 13, but the story is that Kobe's shooting went south after how he kept the team going early. He finished with 11/25 shooting. In addition, he missed half of his ten ft attempts. Another note. I know the team shot well, but when the leading rebounder for the Lakers had 7 and it was Trevor Ariza, the box out was conducted a bit well, especially with Pau only with 3 and Lamar with 2. Agreed though that Pau Gasol is really awesome in the Finals.

So, with Game 4 looming, what 5 points will I highlight?

1. Is Kobe tired? Does he have enough gas? What will he put up now with all the criticism being hurled at him right now?

2. Can Orlando shoot the ball well like what they did in Game 3? Can they approximate it? Will it rain threes?

3. Can Rafer follow-up Game 3 with a respectable performance in Game 4? Ditto with Pietrus?

4. What will be the rebounding story? 5 rebounds from Pau and Lamar combined is not good.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Magic shot a little better compared to Game 1. 41% and 33% from long distance.

2. SVG establish a proper balancing of minutes between Jameer and Skip to My Lou

25 minutes for Skip, 16 for Jameer. However, both players struggled, so it was negligible.

3. A reliable option from the Laker bench other than Lamar Odom emerge. Game 1 saw 9 pts from Luke Walton.

Farmar was the only bench player other than Odom to score (4pts). However, Trevor Ariza was huge (if you can discount his 3/13 shooting).

4. Kobe strike a balance between being selfish and having the Look. 34 shots and 8 assts is good enough.

Kobe scores 29 pts on 22 shots. He dished out 8 assts. Yup, Balance. Scored 23 in the second half.

5. Foul trouble is to be avoided. Dwight was in a bit of foul trouble early as well as Bynum.

Bynum was again in foul trouble the whole game, which was neutralized by another huge game by Lamar Odom. Pau Gasol played better than his game 1 performance. Odom for a bit was in that foul trouble. Pietrus fouled out.

1. The Magic shoot better.2. SVG establish a proper balancing of minutes between Jameer and Skip to My Lou3. A reliable option from the Laker bench other than Lamar Odom emerge. Game 1 saw 9 pts from Luke Walton.4. Kobe strike a balance between being selfish and having the Look. 34 shots and 8 assts is good enough.5. Foul trouble is to be avoided. Dwight was in a bit of foul trouble early as well as Bynum.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Foreword: I believe that circumnavigation is a sport, so this deserves to be posted here

Amidst the hard rain that poured on last week, I had the privilege to be invited to see the Balangay that is nearly completed along the Manila Bay. This project by the Kaya ng Pinoy Inc., aims to retrace the migration our ancestors took a long time ago.

With pretty much using the equipment and the skill and craftsmanship that was needed in building the balangay, as it is authenticated by what is in the National Museum and by the Badjaos that built the vessel, this ship will be ready to launch on the 24th of June. Hopefully, I would be able to witness the event.

In addition to the authenticity of construction, navigation will also be authentic. They are to use the sun, stars, wind, clouds waves and birds as their guides in the journey.

This is the planned timetable in their circumnavigation quest.

2009: from Manila to Sulu / Tawi-Tawi then crossing into Sabah2010: Southeast Asia (possibly retracing the old local trade routes)2011: Micronesia and Madagascar (where some of our artifacts have allegedly reached)2012-13: the global circumnavigation attempt

Under the stewardship of Art Valdez and led by the Philippine Everest team (of Channel 2 fame), it is aimed that we Filipinos of the Malay race, can do anything as long as we can get our minds to it.

Top Four: Brazil and Paraguay tied with 24 pts, Chile is 3rd and Argentina is 4th with 22.5th Place: Uruguay is 5pts back from Argentina, with Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia at their heels.

Oceania: Due to its relative weakness vis-a-vis the other regions, the winner will have to face off with the 5th place team in Asia.

New Zealand won the group, so it will await its playoff opponent.

CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean): 3 automatic berths await the top 3 teams, with the 4th placed team facing off against the 5th placer of the CONMEBOL.

Top 3: Costa Rica and the US pacing the group, with El Salvador (5pts) holding on to 3rd place by 1 pt.4th place: Honduras is barely holding on with 4 pts while still in contention for the final automatic spot. Chasing both teams are Mexico (3pts) and Trinidad and Tobago (2 pts).

AFC (Asia): 4 automatic spots will be awarded to the top two teams on each group, with the third-place squads squaring off to have the right to play the Oceania Zone Winner (New Zealand)

Group A: Japan and Australia are guaranteed automatic spots with 2 games to play. Bahrain (7pts) has a slight lead over Qatar (5pts) and Uzbekistan (4pts) for 3rd, but has a game in hand over both teams.

Group B: South Korea (14pts) has a slight edge over North Korea (11 pts) and Saudi Arabia (10 pts). Iran (7 pts) has an outside chance, but would need some help.

UEFA (Europe): All team subdivided into 9 groups, with group winners securing qualification. The 8 best 2nd place teams go into a home-and-home playoff, with the winners securing qualification.

Group 1: Denmark is pacing with 16 pts and Hungary attempting to restore its greatness from the early Fifties in second with 13 pts. Portugal is third with 9 pts, but Sweden has a game in hand and has 6 pts.

Group 2: Greece and Switzerland tied with 13 pts. Latvia is 3pts back and Israel, a pt behind Latvia.

Group 3: Slovakia (15pts) has a 2 pt lead over Northern Ireland with a game in hand. Poland is 3rd with 10 pts as the Czech Republic and Slovenia trail by 2 pts.

Group 4: Germany (16 pts) has a 4 pt lead over Russia and a 6 pt lead over Finland, but both trailing teams have a game in hand over the Germans. Wales has 9 pts, but has played 7 games already.

Group 5: Spain is looking good with 18 pts. The Euro Champs are leading Bosnia-Hercegovina by 6. Turkey is in far third with only 8 pts, a pt ahead of Belgium.

Group 6: England pacing the group with 18 pts, 5 ahead of Croatia. Belarus (9 pts) and Ukraine (8 pts) have a game ahead of the Croats.

Group 7: Serbia (15 pts) has a 5 pt edge over France but the French has a game in hand over the Serbs and two games in hand over Lithuania (9 pts). Romania and Austria have 7 pts each.

Group 8: Italy is leading Ireland by a point (14 to 13), but the defending champs have a game in hand. Bulgaria has 8 pts in third place.

Group 9: The Dutch looking to secure automatic qualification with 18 pts. Scotland is in far second with only 7.

Africa: 5 automatic spots will be rewarded to the 5 group winners. South Africa, being the host, already has secured an automatic spot. The current World Cup qualifying also serves as a qualifier for the African Cup of Nations.

NOTE: This is still early as teams have either gotten 1 or games so far in this double round robin format.

Group A: Gabon already has 6 pts. Togo has 3 pts, with Morocco and Cameroon still scoreless.

Group B: Tunisia has 6 pts, with Nigeria and Mozambique having a pt and Kenya still scoreless.

Group C: Zambia has 4 pts, with Egypt, Algeria and Rwanda each garnering a pt.

Group D: Ghana has 3 pts, with Mali and Sudan owning a pt. Benin still scoreless.

Group E: Burkina Faso has 6 pts, with Cote D'Ivoire 3 pts and both Guinea and Malawi still scoreless.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Lakers won Game 1 of the NBA Finals quite handily, and as Bill Plaschke would say, "It's over." The great Phil Jackson is 43-0 in series that his team won Game 1. However, these are the same Magic that ended a 32-0 stretch Boston had when the Celtics own a 3-2 edge in a best-of-seven series.

Let's see what transpired.

1. I missed out on the start of the game, but looked nip and tuck.2. despite news on the contrary, Jameer Nelson played and he looked mighty fine.His statline c/o yahoo: 23+ minutes, 3/9 shooting (0/2 3pt), 2 rebs, 4 assts (1 turnover), 6 ptsThere is a point of improvement, but when you miss four months of playing time, that is ok. he did not exactly let himself get eaten alive. In fact, he keyed steady play for the Magic in the 2nd quarter to get them a small lead.3. 10 straight points by the Lakers guaranteed they retain the lead until the rest of the game. It was keyed by attacking Courtney Lee in the low post.4. Kobe took over. 16 pts in the 3rd quarter to pull away. Ends up with 40 points.5. Defense. Defense. Defense. Magic shot less than 30% overall. Just 35% from long distance.6. Remember how Kendrick Perkins gave Dwight fits in their series? Andrew Bynum has that potential (if he can stay away from foul trouble). Dwight took just 6 shots, making 1. (However, he was 10/16 from the FT line).7. When your leading scorer has only 14 pts and it is Mickael Pietrus, there are issues. Rashard only had 8 pts.8. There might be some issues with the rotation from SVG. When you have a Tony Battie appearance early in the game, there might be a problem.9. Rafer Alston is a type of guy who needs minutes to play better.10. Laker supporting cast were present. Lamar Odom held his own. Double-Double. Pau had a quiet 19 pts. 9 and 9 from Bynum. Fisher scored 9 pts early. Luke Walton came off the bench to score 9.11. Gortat will get paid. Some team will overpay for the Polish Hammer.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Here are three people from both teams whom I think might be the key to title 15 for the Lakers or the Magic winning their first championship.

Magic:

1. Jameer Nelson - not 100% from a torn labrum he suffered from a game in Dallas last February. Is he ready to take around 10-15 minutes? Willis Reed potential here.

2. Mickael Pietrus - the key reserve tasked to defend Kobe Bryant. He was huge in the ECF against Cleveland.

3. Rafer Alston - how will he take having reduced minutes? Can he dish it out the same way Jameer had against Fisher? Is he really better than the combined 3-headed PG rotation?

Lakers:

1. Sasha Vujacic - He is having a disastrous playoffs so far. The Machine needs work and Kobe is tired because of it. He needs to be a contributor for the Lakers to win. 1 pt in 26 combined minutes against the Magic this season, missing all of his nine attempts.

2-3. Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown - One reason Jameer was awesome against the Lakers is Fisher logging heavy minutes. Can these two get at least 20 quality minutes per game and keep the old guy fresh?

I have a copy of the stats of the two games the Lakers and the Magic played this season.

Both games were won by the Magic (1st meeting 106-103 @ Orlando, 2nd meeting 109-103 @ LA). Here is what we can pick up from it:

1. Jameer is huge. Both games featured awesome performances from the All-Star. He got hurt on February, so what we get from him will be a huge question mark. He was 11/16 for 27 pts @ Orlando and 9/18 for 28 pts @ LA.

2. Derek Fisher was logging very heavy minutes (41 minutes in both games). Jordan Farmar was unavailable in both games and Shannon Brown was still a Bobcat.

3. Kobe was not exactly stellar shooting the ball both games (45 and 38 percent shooting). He took 26 and 31 shots in both games.

4. Dwight will go to the line. 15 and 16 FT attempts both games. Bynum only managed around 12 minutes in their first meeting.

5. Magic had 12 3-pt conversions in both games. Both games shooting over 40 percent. Need to address Laker perimeter defense.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Last February, Jameer Nelson had "season-ending" surgery to fix his torn labrum on his shoulder.

Apparently, they did not forecast that they would still be in the hunt now, as the team intends to keep Jameer active in the Finals roster, albeit as an "emergency PG." He has been cleared to practice and might be ready to go.

It is interesting because both Magic victories against the Lakers this season were with Jameer not having the surgery.

His teammates expect that he will play. The coaching staff surely look pessimistic, but I think they are chomping at the bit as to what they can do with Jameer.

The GM prefers that he pass a litany of tests to ensure he is really ready for the season.

I think he plays. I think he plays well enough to steal minutes from Rafer, Lee and Pietrus. The fact we are talking about this means he has taken Tyronn Lue's spot and Anthony Johnson's minutes.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

I had a brief conversation with Rico Robles last night. He is a huge Laker fan, pleased that the Lakers are in the Finals. He says that the best Laker team was the Kobe-Shaq team when they had Glen Rice, which I presume is the 2000 team. If you recall, the signature moment of that team was that comeback against the Blazers. I digress.

Let's see who was on that roster:

Their Starting Line-up for most of that season was Shaq, Kobe, AC Green, Ron Harper and Glen Rice.

Their key reserves were Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, Robert Horry and a young Derek Fisher.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Playboy Philippines recently held its first celebrity Dodgeball tournament last May 30. I was one of the participants of the event and it really was fun to play and watch, considering the Playmates were around.

Hello. I am John Paul Manahan, the Armchair Sports Blogger. This is a specialized spinoff of my own personal blog and my multiply. This space is to provide my own personal tidbits on the sports realm. Pretty much on anything I wants to delve into, as long as I can write and comment about it.

It is interesting that I am starting on the 1st of June. A new beginning. A new start. It's time to go into sports and break it as what I see it.